Pale Horse
by ForeverKinght
Summary: There is a village out in the woods where a strange man on a pale horse goes through. Each time he passes through a person dies that night but he has nothing to do with these people's deaths. When he is in the village he is seen with a sickly man, named Arthur. The two of them are good friends. But the strange horseman is hiding something.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.**

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Once every two months a man came into a small hunting village. He is never in a hurry, his pale horse walking slowly and deliberately. He moved with the swaying motion of the horse's steps, blond bangs brush over sky blue eyes and gave him more of a mysterious look. The horseman only stayed for a day or two and during that time someone died. He would leave the day after the death.

Some people accused him for the deaths but he was never near the house where the person died. The people discovered that he always went to the house of a sickly man named Arthur Kirkland.

Arthur had been plagued with bad health for as long as any of the villagers remembered.

The odd friendship, a sickly man and a traveler, was very confusing to the people but they never voiced their thoughts. Over time they could see a strong bond growing between the two blonds. The villagers knew something between them changed when they would see Arthur waiting on the edge of the village, searching the woods for the pale horse.

~X~

Years pasted and Arthur grew older, though not healthier, but the mysterious horseman never seemed to age. Arthur's health progressively grew worse with each passing month. Some days he couldn't even leave his home, whereas in the past he could move around. He was now almost always sick. People went to his home to help the best they could, but whenever the horseman showed up they would run away. The strange man seemed to cool the air where ever he was. He would not say a word to them, none of them, but they still left the small cottage.

One was brave and stayed behind for a minute, wanting to see if the man would speak.

"Were they hurting you?" Said an unfamiliar voice, it must be the stranger. The soft words were filled with love and care.

"No, no, love. They come by…" Arthur's voice was broken off with a cough. "…To help. They are being kind to me."

The two voices grew faint, as if there was nothing else to say or they knew someone was listening.

~X~

One day, when the rest of the village knew the blond horseman would not come, one asked Arthur about the strange man that visited him.

All Arthur said was, "OH…He comes by to take care of me." Then they asked what he was like, and the love and joy that shown in his green eyes was able to convince them that the traveler could be trusted.

~X~

One month, the area had very heavy rain, turning the woods into a muddy marsh. They all expected that the traveler would not come in this storm.

Each person helped fight to save their home from being washed away. Saving their village would take longer than a few hours or even a day. They fought the constant rain and wind.

The rain was relentless, coming down in sheets and for many days. Even after the rain had stopped the fight continued. Days slowly became weeks. By the time everything had settled, most of the houses were safe and everyone had survived. The land was still saturated and muddy but no new water was adding to it.

Arthur had been forgotten during the Great Rain. He could understand that, because the whole town was out trying to save this land while he was bed ridden and couldn't help. He grew weaker with lack of food and water. Arthur couldn't even keep his eyes open for more than 30 minutes.

Everything was still very wet and the people were afraid that there might be a mud slide from the mountains to the east of their village. This danger hanging over their heads prompted people to prepare to leave if necessary. The leaders went around the village, making sure that everyone was fine but when they got to Arthur's house their hearts sank a little.

Arthur was past saving. He had grown pale and his body was damp with sweat. Some sickness must have taken hold during the rain. They took his hats off, saying a small prayer before going to alert the priest. One stayed with Arthur. It was quite until Arthur reached out for something.

"Alfred…Where…Where are you….?" Arthur asked to the air. "You…Y-You said you would be here…" He became choked up, eyes filling with tears.

The man was startled, who was this Alfred fellow? Was he the man that kept meeting with Arthur? The man said nothing, siting in silence.

The whole village was silent, like the whole world was holding its breath. Soon a sound cut through the stillness, the sound of a thundering horse gallop. People all stopped and looked at the forest; everyone could see a faint red light and hear the thundering beats. Inside his house, Arthur was still calling for Alfred and each cry pulled the horseman closer to the village.

The horseman did not stop, running past humans on his way to Arthur's house. Alfred had to get there. He just had to. Before the horse had time to stop, the blond man hopped from the horse's back and ran into the cottage. He ignored the other man.

Arthur's hand was still reaching out in the air and didn't pull back when a chilled hand clasped his, a weak smile pulling at his lips. "You came…"

"I told you I would, Arthur. I would never forget you." Blue eyes locked onto green, holding the others gaze for a minute before descending in for a kiss. It was a long and loving kiss, from both sides, and it made the third man in the room feel uncomfortable. The horseman pulled back first.

"Come, Arthur. I will show you a new world." Alfred reached down to pick up the thin man and held him close.

"W-Will I be with you?" Arthur asked as he huddled to the other. Even though the other was cold, Alfred felt warm to the dying man. He nodded and carried Arthur out to his pale horse. Once Arthur was situated on the horse's back, Alfred climbed on as well. He wrapped an arm around Arthur's wait as the other leaned back on him.

"I knew it…" Arthur whispered.

"Knew what love?" Alfred asked as he led the horse out of the muddy town. He could feel the villagers watching them leave, but he couldn't care less. He got Arthur now.

"That death rides a pale horse…" Arthur said as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

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**Well, here is another story. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Anyway, thank you for reading and have a nice day. Please review.**


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